Category Archives: Newest Blogs (最新ブログ)

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) December 16, 2019 In North America and Hawaii, 911 is the number used to access emergency services, which include law enforcement, ambulance, fire and rescue. In 96% of the US, calling 911 will connect the caller with a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAT) that will automatically give the dispatcher the address the call originates from. The dispatcher at the PSAT will send out emergency responders. Japan uses 119 (the reverse of 911) for their fire, rescue and ambulance services and 110 for law enforcement. 911（日本なら119番または110番） 日本には消防や救急隊要請番号は『119』だけど、北米（ハワイも含む）では全ての緊急要請は『911』となる。警察、救急、消防が全てその番号で対応されている。その番後を廻すとPublic Safety Answering Point (PSAP)(緊急応答機関)の局に電話が転送される。そこからその事態に応じての警察・消防などに連絡を取り、派遣される。 ********** English novels by Billy Hammond published by AELS (AELS出版英語書籍リスト）   I. Majoh Gakuin and Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools Trilogy 1. Majoh Gakuin & Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools 2. Lost Witch (The second book) 3. Fate & Magic (The final book […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) December 13, 2019 I like cats, but they can harbor some pretty mean diseases. One of them is “cat-scratch disease.” Cat-scratch Disease is transmitted by a cat that has the bacterium Bartonella hensellae in its saliva or nails. B. hensellae is a rod-shaped, gram-negative organism that usually causes fever and regional lymphadenopathy in people with normal immune systems, but can also cause brain and retinal diseases in those with weakened immune defenses. The incubation period is 1 -2 weeks and a brownish papule or pustule forms at the bite site in 50 -90% of the cases. Regional lymphadenopathy presents 3 – 10 days later and is frequently accompanied by fever, malaise and loss of appetite. Resolution usually occurs within a month. A rare complication of cat-scratch disease is cat-scratch encephalopathy, which presents 1 – 8 […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) December 12, 2019 “Code Blue” is the name of a popular Japanese TV drama series featuring helicopter air ambulance doctors. In the theater version of it that aired on December 7, 2019, the beginning portion featured a real helicopter doctor team at a Japanese hospital. During the episode, someone on the doctors’ team made a reference to the patient and FAST. I don’t recall any explanatory subtitles, but then again I might have missed them. For viewers who are wondering what it is, it’s part of the algorithm used in assessing multi-trauma patients. It stands for Focused Assessment Sonographic Trauma and is used to identify fluid leakages such as hemorrhages. The first step in FAST is to view the area on the right side which contains what is known as Morrison’s pouch, which will show […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) December 10, 2019 I had to memorize the Rule of Nines for estimating the percentage of total body surface area (TBSA) burned in a few of my courses. It’s used for 2nd degree burns or greater. Head and arms = 9% Anterior trunk, Posterior Trunk, Legs = 18% Genitalia: 1% When I saw the video of the arsonist who started the Kyoto Anime Studio fire on TV, it showed his lower leg on fire and someone pouring water on it. The Rule of Nines came to mind immediately and I calculated a 4.5% body surface burn (leg = 18%, one side of the leg = 9%, ½ of the anterior leg = 4.5%). Of course, I couldn’t see his back, but from what the TV said later, it must have been pretty much completely burned, […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) December 9, 2019 I learned about the Trauma Center system in the EMT course I recently successfully completed. There are four main levels of trauma centers in the US, which are evaluated by the American College of Surgeons. Level I Regional Trauma Centers These centers can manage all trauma at all times. The physicians who taught the EMT course work at Denver Health, which is a regional Level I trauma center. Level II Area Trauma Centers Level II trauma centers can handle most trauma at all times and can stabilize and transfer patients to Level I centers if necessary. Level III and Level IV Trauma Centers These are usually smaller community centers. They can stabilize serious trauma patients before transferring them to higher levels of care and have some surgical capacities. There are also Level […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) December 7, 2019 During the years of the Japanese economic bubble, companies used to print and give away calendars like crazy. After the bubble burst, free calendars became somewhat of a rarity. It took a while, but things picked up during the past few years and I’ve managed to get enough large-sized calendars to meet my home and office needs. This year, though, seems to be a small calendar year… It might be the result of the tax increases imposed by the government this year…??? 無料カレンダー バブル経済期にはどの会社でもカレンダーを印刷・配っていた。しかし、バブル崩壊後、無料カレンダーは珍しい物となった。しかし、この過去数年間、自分が必要とする家と事務所の数を再び貰えるようになった。今年は大型カレンダーはまだけど…現在の増税日本経済を反映しているかな？？ *********** English novels by Billy Hammond published by AELS (AELS出版英語書籍リスト）   I. Majoh Gakuin and Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools Trilogy 1. Majoh Gakuin & Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools 2. Lost Witch (The second book) 3. Fate & Magic (The final book in the trilogy) […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) December 6, 2019 Wernicke–Korsakoff Syndrome is actually two diseases: Wernicke’s encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome that are caused by a vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency mainly in heavy alcohol users. It can also occur from other diseases such as HIV or cancer or bariatric surgery. Wernicke’s encephalopathy usually presents first and later, when it’s symptoms start to disappear, Korsakoff syndrome (Korsakoff Psychosis) symptoms begin to appear. Wernicke’s encephalopathy damages the thalamus and hypothalamus of the brain. Symptoms include confusion, ataxia, nystagmus, double vision, and eyelid drooping. Korsakoff syndrome symptoms include the inability to create new memories, loss of memory, confabulation and hallucinations. Another good reason to take vitamin B1 supplements if you’re a heavy drinker… ウェルニッケ・コルサコフ症候群 実はウェルニッケ・コルサコフ症候群は二つの病気である：ウェルニッケ脳症とコルサコフ症候群（コルサコフ精神病）。両方はビタミンB1欠乏から発生する。主にアルコール依存症者に診られるが、HIV、癌等、や肥満手術後も原因ともなる。 ウェルニッケ脳症は先に発生し、脳の視床と視床下部を損傷する。症状には混乱、運動失調、眼振、複視や眼瞼下垂が含まれる。 コルサコフ症候群症状には新規の記憶作成障害、記憶喪失、作話症や幻覚も含まれる。 酒をよく飲むならビタミンB1サプリも飲んだ方がいいかも… ……………… Books published by AELS (AELS出版書籍) 魔女学院＆光塾：魔女ガールズの冒険 原作＆翻訳：ビレー　ハモンド 日本語編集：伊庭野れい子 Majoh Gakuin & Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) December 5, 2019 If you drink a lot, then it’s important to know that ethanol (the main ingredient in alcoholic drinks) is an anti-vitamin, which inhibits the absorption of vitamin B1 (thiamine). Thiamine is converted to TPP (thiamine pyrophosphate) in the body. The TPP serves as a co-enzyme in the decarboxylation of alpha ketoacids such as pyruvate and alpha-ketogluterate and in the use of pentose phosphates in the pentose phosphate pathway. The result is that the oxidation of alpha ketoacids is impaired. This creates disorders in the central and peripheral nervous systems as well as the cardiovascular system and can lead to beri-beri heart disease. If you enjoy drinking a lot, then it’s probably a good idea to take a B1 supplement. ビタミンB1とアルコール アルコール飲料水が好きなら、酔わせてくれるエタノールは抗ビタミンと知るべき。エタノールはビタミンB1の吸収を抑制する。 B1は体内でTPP(チアミンピロリン酸)に変換される。TPPはピルビン酸塩やαケトグルタン酸のようなα-ケト酸の脱炭酸時にコエンザイムの役割を果たす。ペントースリン酸経路のペントースリン酸の利用にも活躍する。エタノールはα-ケト酸の酸化を妨害する。結果として中枢神経系・末梢神経系・心臓血管系の障害も可能となり、脚気心臓病ともつながる。 アルコールを沢山飲むなら、B1のサプリも飲んだ方がいい。 ……… English novels by Billy Hammond published by AELS […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) December 2, 2019 If you haven’t read the introduction to SDEs, you might want to take a look at it before reading this post. SDEs occur among one or more of people who are close to the person in the process of dying. Dr. Moody notes that they often share the same experiences present in the NDE (Near Death Experience) such as seeing a bright light and out of body (OOB) experience. However, he adds that there seem to be four other features that set them apart from NDEs: “Mystical Music”, “Geometric Changes in the Environment”, “Shared Mystical Light”, and “Mist-ical Experience.” While the first three are fairly self-explanatory, “The Mist-ical Experience” is the most intriguing of these and requires some elucidation. According to Dr. Moody, people have often seen mist emissions emanating from the […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) November 29, 2019 Some four years ago, I took a course on upper limb anatomy from the Perelman School of Medicine and had to memorize various neuropathologies of the nerves of the brachial plexus. One of them was the “hand of benediction”, which I associated with the Roman Catholic Pope in my mind. It occurs when the median nerve is injured in the elbow region. This affects the flexion of the fingers controlled by it and a person trying to make a fist winds up with a classical “hand of benediction.” Now, whenever I see the Pope, the first thing that comes into my mind is “median nerve, flexion, hand of benediction.” Word associations tend to hang around in the mind… ローマ法王と単語連想 4年前にネット上でPerelman School of Medicineから上肢の解剖学のコースを受けた。そのコース中に腕神経叢の様々な障害症状を暗記しなければならなかった。一つは『hand of benediction (祝祷[しゅくとう]の手』だった。覚えるために、私はローマ法王を想像して、関連付けした。 肘周辺の怪我で正中神経に障害を受けた際、その神経がコントロールする指の屈曲が影響され、手を握ろうとしたときに古典的なhand of benedictionになる。 その後、ローマ法王を見る度び『正中神経、指の屈曲、hand of benediction』が浮かび上がる。連想付けた単語はなかなか消えない… […]